Heart attacks and strokes — also called brain attacks — are quite different, but both can be life threatening.
Identifying the symptoms as quickly as possible in yourself or a loved one can help ensure immediate treatment, which in turn increases the chance of survival and lessens the likelihood of lasting damage and disability.
Here’s the difference between a heart attack and a stroke — and what to look for so you can get the appropriate care.
What Is a Heart Attack?
Also known as a myocardial infarction, a heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart is reduced or interrupted, typically by clogged, narrowed arteries, or a blood clot. When blood flow is blocked, the heart muscle can’t get enough oxygen and begins to die.
Heart attack risk factors
You’re at higher risk for having a heart attack if you:
- Are overweight or obese.
- Are physically inactive.
- Have a family history of cardiovascular disease.
- Have high blood pressure.
- Have high cholesterol.
- Have diabetes.
- Smoke.
Heart attack symptoms
Classic symptoms of a heart attack include:
- Discomfort that extends to the shoulders, arms, back, abdomen, jaw, and teeth.
- Lightheadedness or fainting.
- Pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes or stops and recurs.
- Shortness of breath.
- Sweating.
Heart attack symptoms in women
Women may experience different or more vague symptoms, such as:
- Abdominal pain that may feel like heartburn or indigestion.
- Clammy skin.
- Dizziness.
- Unusual fatigue.
What Is a Stroke?
A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted, either when a blood clot breaks a vessel (ischemic stroke) or when a vessel weakens or bursts (hemorrhagic stroke). Brief interruptions in blood flow, known as transient ischemic attacks (also known as mini-strokes), are strokes that do not cause damage in the brain. In the case of TIAs, symptoms will typically resolve within one to two hours but you should still seek medical care.
When blood flow is interrupted, brain cells don’t receive enough oxygen and begin to die. Depending on what part of the brain is damaged, a stroke can cause problems with speech, weakness, balance, and loss of vision.
Stroke symptoms
Classic stroke symptoms include:
- Sudden confusion or difficulty speaking or understanding speech.
- Sudden difficulty walking, dizziness, or loss or balance or coordination.
- Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, particularly on one side of the body.
- Sudden severe headache with no known cause.
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
Stroke symptoms in women
Women may experience different or more vague symptoms, such as:
- Agitation.
- Burning pain.
- Confusion, unresponsiveness, or disorientation.
- Hallucinations.
- Hiccups.
- Loss of consciousness.
- Nausea or vomiting.
- Neglecting one side of your body.
- Seizures.
- Sudden behavioral changes.
- Trouble swallowing.
- Weakness in both legs.
If you think that you or a loved one are having a heart attack or stroke, call 911 immediately.
To learn more about stroke rehab and stroke prevention, visit the UPMC Stroke Institute website.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on , and was last reviewed on .